1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus of an electrophotographic type such as a copier, a facsimile machine, a printer, or a multifunction peripheral (MFP) in which functions of at least two of a copier, a facsimile machine and a printer are included. In more detail, the present invention relates to an improvement in a radiation part provided in an image forming apparatus of an electrophotographic type.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, as a configuration of an image forming apparatus of an electrophotographic type, such a configuration comes to play a major role in response to a demand for downsizing a space of installing the image forming apparatus that paper is ejected to a paper ejection tray provided immediately above an image forming part of the image forming apparatus, from such a configuration that a paper ejection tray is provided on a side surface of a body of the image forming apparatus.
However, the image forming part includes an apparatus that generates heat by itself such as an image forming unit. Thus, it may be necessary to provide a radiation part that discharges heated air to the outside of the body of the image forming apparatus to radiate the heat.
As such a radiation part of an image forming apparatus, there is a configuration where an opening is provided on a side surface of a body of the image forming apparatus, an airflow is created mechanically by means of a fan motor or such, and heated air is forcibly discharged to the outside of the body of the image forming apparatus (see Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2007-148102, for example). Another configuration may be such that an opening is provided in a top of an image forming apparatus such as a top surface of a body of the image forming apparatus, and heated air is discharged to the outside of the body of the image forming apparatus by means of natural convection.